Managers Learn to Lead at an Early Age
The survey also suggests that extra-curricular activities played a role in the development of future leaders.
A survey of 500 UK business owners and managers by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) revealed that many were marked out as future leaders from an early age with 44 per cent having been school prefects, nine per cent head boys or girls and 22 per cent captains of a school sports team.
The sports field proved a valuable learning ground for today’s leaders with 69 per cent having competed as part of a school team.
The survey also suggests that extra-curricular activities played a role in the development of future leaders. One third of male leaders (34 per cent) were once members of the Scouts while 42 per cent of their female counterparts were Girl Guides. Sixteen per cent were once members of the school choir and one in ten (11 per cent) played in the school orchestra.
Kim Parish, chief executive of ILM commented: “This study shows that many young people learn about leadership at a very early age.
In fact, a significant proportion of today’s leaders must owe their current role to experiences outside the classroom, as 12 per cent left school under the age of 16 and seven per cent had no qualifications at all when they left full time education.
Thirty per cent of business leaders felt that holding a position of responsibility at school was the most important indicator of a good future leader. And despite the social bias towards higher education, today’s business leaders believe that academic qualifications aren’t a prerequisite for success. One third (32 per cent) said that academic performance at school was the most overrated indicator of a good leader and only one third (32 per cent) left education with a university degree.
In fact, a significant proportion of today’s leaders must owe their current role to experiences outside the classroom, as 12 per cent left school under the age of 16 and seven per cent had no qualifications at all when they left full time education.
Kim Parish concluded: “This study also shows that successful leaders draw on expertise and experience from all areas of their lives – from the exam hall to the cricket pitch. The leadership lessons learned in childhood can help sow the first seeds of leadership ambition.”
Joanne Webster, a professor of parasitic diseases at the RVC, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
